1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wafer prober for measuring a semiconductor chip in a semiconductor wafer and, more particularly, to a method of automating a probe aligning operation of a probe card.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recent semiconductor manufacturing process, the operations performed by the wafer prober and the like have been automated in order to make the manufacturing process more efficient, and to improve the yield and quality of the finished product.
With the increase in the packing density of semiconductor chips, a wafer prober is now required to carry out measurements in relation to small lots of wafers of various sorts, and for this reason, its operation needs to be fully automated.
The present applicant proposes a prober which can automatically change probe cards as the sort of wafer to be measured changes.
Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 62-169341 discloses a prober in which a probe card member--a combination of a probe card and a protection plate--is automatically changed in correspondence with a change in the sort of wafer to be measured, while Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 62-263647 discloses a prober in which a ring insert with a probe card or the like assembled therein is automatically changed as the sort of wafer to be measured changes.
Each of the above-mentioned probers allow automatic changing of probe cards; however, a fully automated semiconductor manufacturing system cannot be achieved unless the probe aligning operation is automated along with the automatic changing of probe cards.